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Chapter 39
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Grigork managed to hold his tongue until Willow’s truth spell kicked in. He was genuinely committed to his master and had been quite willing to die rather than spill secrets to the white hats.

Thanks to the well-applied magic, the group now knew that one of the Senior Partners had been dispatched before Spike was captured. Giles told those who had not been present during the questioning what they had discovered. "So it would seem that Spike is currently being tortured on the orders of this Ram entity. While I do not wish any harm to Spike, we all know him well enough to know not to count him out just yet." Giles looked pointedly at Angel with that last comment.

"What about the Buffster?" Xander clenched his fists in anger at the thought of her situation as recounted by the demon monk. He had nearly caused Buffy to dance to death once before, but that had been unintentional and she had been saved by Spike then as well. This time the intentions were lethal and Xander wanted to remove the head of her smarmy Italian boyfriend for handing her over that way.

"Do not concern yourself about the white-haired one. My pet will not allow this second-level demon to prevent the completion of his mission. This Slayer means far too much to the halfbreed. If she is as powerful as the dark-haired one with the fawn’s eyes, I believe it will take something greater than a simple rhythmic movement to bring her to destruction," Illyria reassured her chosen human guide.

"Quite so, Illyria. As it happens, the acolyte did say that Spike had broken the spell that held Buffy in a perpetual dance to the death. The problem would seem to be that the shape-shifting abilities of the Senior Partners has managed to cloud Buffy’s perception of reality." Giles had a worried look on his face at the thought of Buffy in jeopardy still.

"Spike’ll get through to her, Giles. They have a connection that these bozos can’t touch. He’ll help her see what’s real." Dawn’s face showed not one single bit of doubt as she spoke.

"I don’t think a short affair when Buffy was vulnerable and hurting is the basis for the kind of trust you’re talking about, no matter how much I’d like it to be true." Angel was still of half a mind to charge in and save the day in his usual manner.

"I’m not talking about a sexual connection, Angel. You weren’t there! Buffy and Spike have always had this vibe between them. Even hurting each other majorly didn’t stop it. It’s like they are part of each other in a way. They bring out the best in each other when they don’t fight it all the time." Dawn rolled her eyes at the thinly veiled jealousy of Buffy’s first true love.

"Dawn is correct. If I had still had doubts, that last year when we were fending off the First Evil would have proven it. I feared the connection that I clearly saw. I warned Buffy that their mutual reliance was dangerous. I was incorrect, as it turned out. I underestimated Spike and misjudged the relationship completely. I have confidence that waiting a while longer is the best course of action. Now, any suggestions as to what we should do with our unwilling guest?" Giles motioned to the room housing their hostage.

"I shall dispatch this worm and teach him what a true god is," vowed Illyria as she headed into the room. "I do not permit my pets to be harmed by such as he."

Somehow no one in the group felt moved to stop her.

~~~

Felric entered the Senior Partners’ chambers, head bowed nearly to the waist. "I am yours to command, O Great Khnum." The robed demon looked to his leader and
noticed the presence of the other Partner and amended his greeting.

"Forgive me! All hail the glorious Fenris, Apollo, Son of Leto, Son of Zeus, Child of Loki, Twin of Artemis. The sun whose glory conquers the night sky. The knowing one of light, music and poetry. He who speaks to the oracles and prophets and will one day slay the mighty Odin! All quake in fear at the jaws of the Great Wolf!"

"Yes, yes…thank you for that lovely personal history and ass-kissing." Wolf chuckled and turned to Ram. "No wonder your boys can’t get the job done. Too busy neutering themselves and coming up with crap like that and not busy enough with the real skills. Farlik, Fralik…whatever the hell your name is … go get my boys and get in here. And stop with the kowtowing or we’ll never get around to business."

As Felric left the room to obey his masters, Wolf spoke to Ram. "Really think it’s time we knock some of that crap off. We’re facing the first real threat in centuries, don’t have time for the robe and incense games. In the time it takes for one of your boys to say hello we could have been moving into action."

"I disagree. The lower ones have to know their place, have to remember who they serve and why. Your band of hooligans may ‘get the job done’ as you say, but they are more likely to try a coup in time. If they forget for a moment who and what we are, they might feel worthy of giving the orders rather than executing them. There is a reason for hierarchy and for maintaining the status quo. It may look like simple ego stroking to you, but I think I stand a better chance of avoiding a mutiny than you do at this stage."

"Well, you say po-tay-to, I say po-tah-to, whatever. Right now we’ve got a missing vampire with a martyr’s complex and a powerful slayer on the loose and I want the situation contained quickly. Probably be good to find out why the vamp sees us the way we are, too. That can’t be good for our side. We can find out who the traitors are from those humans the vamp likely brought as back-up later. First things first." Wolf turned to greet his team of enforcers as he finished with Ram.

"Right. No more nice guy. Somewhere in this lovely hotel there’s a paralyzed vampire and a deluded slayer. Find them. Bring them both back here. Alive, don’t care about the condition, but alive and able to talk. You, Sven, take a couple of the boys and scope out the other side. Be discreet, will ya? Just do a head count of the enemy and see what happened to Ram’s team, then high-tail it back here with a report. Oh, and you really don’t want me to have to send out a search and rescue for you., Believe me, you will not enjoy the return home! You might want to try to blend in a bit. Think covert, tourist, mangle the language instead of the people, you get the idea." Wolf issued his simple orders and then turned his back on his minions, knowing they would obey in an instant.

~~~

Spike was still having trouble with voluntary muscle control, but his ability to speak was back without having to take all of his concentration in forming words. Buffy had moved his head to her lap as she sat on the floor next to the prone vampire. She was running her hands through his hair, freeing the
curls that the gel had tamed before his entrance to the dimension.

"Spike. I know we have bigger fish to fry right now but tell me, you DID dust there in the hellmouth didn’t you? I didn’t just leave you to crawl out alone? Please tell me I didn’t do that! I would never have left you if I had thought there was any way to save you. You do know that, don’t you?" Buffy
whispered one of her worst fears to him.

"Yeah, love, you did the right thing, just like I wanted you to do. I was food for dust mites all right. Dusted good and proper, I was. Not sure what happened, but next thing I knew, I was reassembled in Angel’s office. Pretty sure he’d call me junk mail." Spike smiled slightly at the joke that Buffy clearly didn’t get.

"The amulet, pet. Someone mailed it to Angel and when he opened the envelope, it fell on the floor and Hurricane Spike arrived," he tried to explain.

"Wait, are you saying that you weren’t dust all that long? You were in L.A. with Angel?" Buffy pulled on the hair she had been caressing only moments before. "You bastard! Why didn’t you come to me, or at least call? Did you not hear me when you were down there in the Hellmouth? I know what you said, but I also know you know me well enough to know you mattered! What were you thinking?" Buffy was hurt and angry that yet another male who claimed to love her had evidently just stayed away from her for her own good.

"Wasn’t that simple. First thing I did was ask about you. Pissed off the poof, too, let me tell you! Wanted to call you right off, that’s when I walked through the desk and we all learned I wasn’t really all there." Spike smiled up at Buffy and carefully raised a finger to teasingly admonish her before she could jump on that comment. "Watch it, missy! I mean I was noncorporeal; brain worked just fine, thank you!"

"Well it didn’t work fine enough. I thought you were dust. Dead and gone and never to return. Spike, it would have only been short time to be apart! You could have had someone call and I would have come right away." Buffy would likely always regret the lost time.

"Not a long line of volunteers to play dial-the-Slayer for me, love. Took ‘em a while to even decide to try to make me a real boy all the way. I haunted the place for what seemed like forever…well, that and fading into hell from time to time." Spike said.

"What do you mean hell, like HELL hell or just a dimension kinda hell with Glory clones?" Buffy asked with a worried frown. "I mean, you saved the world, Spike. That was your doing. The most we could have done was kill a bunch of them before they got loose. We were too outnumbered to stop the First’s army. That was all you. Okay, not stupid here, I know about your past as a vampire, the Big Bad. I reminded you of it often enough even when you were clearly trying to switch sides. But, gee, Spike, you saved the whole entire world full of people and puppies and goats and everything else! I’d think the big guy in charge would give you some credit for that! Do you mean that what we choose to do doesn’t matter at all?"

"No, pet. I don’t really have an answer about the great hereafter stuff. One minute I was burning to ash and the next I was eyeballin’ the grandsire. Don’t have a clue what or where I was in between. The hell part that came later might have been because of this Pavayne pillock. He was feedin’ souls to hell in his place for centuries and tryin’ to make me next in line. Might’ve just been him causin’ that and not some just punishment for my years of killin’ and evil. Reckon
I’ll find out sometime where I’m gonna spend eternity, but I have to believe that what we choose DOES matter. If it don’t … well, what’s the point? We might as well all play at the Big Bad and then go out in a blaze of glory when we get caught, yeah? That just don’t sound right, even to a vamp like me."

"It just wouldn’t have been fair for you to be sent to hell. I never, ever thought you’d be THERE. I always pictured you in the kind of place where I was and knew I’d see you again. That made it bearable. Okay, you were a ghost of a vampire, but obviously you got your body back in time. Why didn’t you call then?" Buffy let the hurt show in her tone of voice.

"Wanted to. Started right off to find you. Knew you were in Europe and was headed right to the elevator and out of the building when all hell broke loose. Seems there’s only room enough for one souled vampire in this here world, least that’s what that Eve bint said. Had a whole private Amazing Race with the poof for a cup that turned out to be Mountain Dew. Kinda got sidetracked. Then got hoodwinked into thinkin’ I was a bloody champion for the Powers and had to stay fightin’ the good fight that Angel had walked out on." Spike closed his eyes in embarrassment about that whole episode.

"You are a champion for the Powers, Spike, but you have a place of your own. You aren’t an Angel substitute for them or for me." Buffy said softly and began to stroke his hair again.

"Really?" Spike looked at her in awe. He took a ragged breath and continued the short version of his time in L.A. "I was sure the Junior Watcher would tell you ‘bout me soon as he got back with the daft slayer that cut off my feelers. Just expected it, you know. Kinda expected you to call or show up. Childish, huh, waitin’ for you to make the first move? Then it turns out the boy actually kept the secret! By then I was caught up in the whole Fred/Illyria switch and with the battle against the Black Thorne. Just ran out of time, love. Been looking for you since I found out you were missing though. Even before I knew you didn’t know I was back and hadn’t sent word that I should just move on."

"Who said that? Why would I say you should move on? I thought you were in heaven! Move on to what? Some… I don’t know…angel or something?" Buffy’s eyes were
tearing at the thought.

"Not like that with Angel!" Spike went on the defensive, a shocked look on his face. "I call him a poof, but that don’t mean I’m interested!"

"Huh?" Buffy blushed deeply as she realized what Spike had thought she meant. She gently cuffed him on the head. "Not Angel, an angel…you know, wings, halo, white robes, long flowy hair. You’ve seen them on Christmas cards."

Spike chuckled. "Real thing looks nothin’ like that, love. Angels are warriors, not nancyboy poofters. See a real angel and kiss the ground. They’re not little babies with bows and arrows either."

"And you would know this how?" Buffy teased.

"Better education system when I was a lad, I suppose. Still got a weekly dose of fire and brimstone from the pulpit to brand a young soul with fear and awe. Handbook of the good guys spells it out proper like. ‘Jesus is my best friend’ stories were a century away at least, pet."

Buffy laughed at the concept of a Bible lesson from a vampire. With any other vampire, it would be surprising; with Spike there was no such thing as typical vampire behavior.

"I get it. There’s lots more to the story of Spike’s return and we WILL so hear it all, buster! Right now we’ve got to kill a bunch of bad guys and get you back to fully automated vampire status. One thing I won’t wait for though…" Buffy demonstrated the one thing by crushing his lips with hers. She poured all the longing and grief and joy she had felt and was now feeling into one mind-numbing kiss that managed to touch his very soul. "Welcome home, sweetheart. I do love you and I missed you so much."

Spike wondered if the Ram had killed him after all because he surely had to be in that heaven where Buffy expected him to belong.